The start of SA Belgium is quite a funny story. In July 2008, a Belgian member from another S-fellowship traveled to Akron, OH, to participate in the SA International Convention there. A couple of years before, he had sought help in another fellowship because he wanted to stop… smoking!! Internet pornography and heavy smoking were always interlinked in his case, so in order to stop smoking, he decided to join another S-program. He didn’t make much progress there, however, and after much frustration he learned about the Akron convention and decided—rather desperately—to book a flight and attend.

On his return, he started making phone calls as soon as he got off the plane at Brussels airport. Before, he would never make phone calls between meetings! He started talking to two other fellow addicts about lust, about not taking the first drink, about going to any lengths, and about taking drastic action. These two people—after years of trying to control and enjoy lust and not having a solution—were inspired by this message of clarity, strength, and hope.

As they started reading the White Book, they became more convinced that the program would work, and one month later they had a group running in Leuven (Flemish-speaking) and another in Brussels (French-speaking). Yes, our tiny country has a completely unmanageable language situation, because the Southern part is French-speaking, the Northern part is Flemish-speaking, while the capital—which is in the middle of the Flemish part—is mainly French-speaking. (Fortunately, Tradition Ten puts an end to the confusion by saying that Sexaholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues!)

The two pioneers happened to be serving in another S-fellowship—one as National Secretary and the other as Treasurer—and they began the painful process of separating from those commitments. In the spirit of “going to any lengths” to get sobriety, one found a sponsor at an October retreat in England. The other found a sponsor in Nashville, TN, where he had flown to attend 90 meetings in 90 days in order to try to stop his relapsing.

Today, two years later, we have four groups: two in Leuven, one in Brussels, and one in Antwerp. Three members have more than one year of sobriety, three have almost a year, and a couple of members are in the process of surrendering. Some other people have visited but are not yet ready for our solution.

We are in contact with members in the UK, the USA, Germany, and the Netherlands. Last March, together with the Dutch member, we had a retreat on Steps Three through Seven, led by a UK old-timer. Together with them, we also formed a Dutch literature committee (Flemish is almost the same as Dutch), and we are busy translating Sexaholics Anonymous and other SA literature. The French-speaking group got the translations from the French community in Quebec, Canada.

The phone is really our lifeline between meetings, and because Belgium’s phone system is one of the most expensive in the world, some of us have monthly bills of $130+ USD. We also find that the CDs from SA conventions, especially from old-timers, are a valuable source of experience, wisdom, and humor. These have helped a lot to strengthen our recovery.

In the spirit of Step Twelve (and under the experienced eyes of our UK and US sponsors), we have tried to carry the message by sending informational mailings to social workers, church officials, prison workers, sex therapists, journalists, and many others. We’ve cooperated twice with the written press, giving them anonymous testimonies plus information about how SA functions. These opportunities have been good experiences for us. We’ve also spoken to a university professor in “sexology” along with 40 of his students, a team of eight professionals working with sex offenders, a hospital team, and a team of social workers. We’re open to doing more of this outreach, as long as our group conscience approves. As the addiction was a “me” program, recovery has to be a “we” program, in all aspects of our lives.

As part of my recovery, I make cartoons based on recovery concepts. The cartoon below is an example of my work. Translating my recovery into visual terms helps keep me focused on the solution. In fact, if anyone has an idea for a recovery cartoon but does not have the gift to draw it, please email the idea to me at: luc4happiness@gmail.com, and I will try to make you a cartoon.

Here in Belgium, we miss the daily experience, strength, and hope of old-timers, but on the other hand, we have the good fortune of starting things up ourselves. One of our priorities is to make a well-documented and attractive website, but unfortunately our site is still very basic. If any of our readers who are computer wizards feel inspired to help us, please let us know. You can reach us at info@sexaholicsanonymous.be or via our international phone number at 0032-488-29-33-48. We hope to meet many of you in the future.

Goeie vierentwintig uur! Bonne vingt-quatre heures!